


The Friendliest Ghost You Know

by madeof_it



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Ghosts, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-26
Updated: 2014-06-26
Packaged: 2018-02-06 09:12:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1852552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madeof_it/pseuds/madeof_it
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a Harry Potter AU fic loosely based on the 1995 Devon Sawa/Christina Ricci movie Casper. The house in the story is loosely based on the Winchester Mystery House, although for the purposes of the story it’s been moved to the UK.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He stood proudly on the green grass of the front lawn, supervising the floating boxes that were making their way through the front door and into the various rooms of the mansion. Lily stood next to him, her wand whipping through the air as she concentrated on directing the moving process, a small frown the only hint of her intense concentration.

"You know, we could've gotten the house elves to help with this. It would go quicker, with them just popping in and out," he said.

She shook her head and her red hair rippled around her face. "No, I want to do it this way. I don't mind." The boxes continued their parade inside.

His son was on a blanket next to his feet, gurgling in the sunshine as he grasped at his toes. It was a perfect day and James Potter couldn't believe their luck. This huge house was THEIRS, inherited from his Great Uncle Samuel something-or-other, and he couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life making this home with his little family.

Later that night, after hours of unpacking and rearranging furniture, James and Lily were tucked into their bed and Harry was in his crib down the hall. Their magical baby monitor was silent as they spoke of their plans for the house, a bizarrely mundane conversation that made James chuckle. This domestic life of theirs still startled him sometimes.

"What colour should we charm the bathroom?" Lily asked, plaiting her long hair into a single braid as James watched.

He reached over and tugged at the end, laughing as she wrinkled her nose in frustration. "Maybe we should make it a fiery red to match the colour of your hair."

She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, there was a crackling from the baby monitor and Harry's cries echoed through their room. Sighing, she swung her legs from under the covers, slipping her feet into her Gryffindor slippers. "I suppose this is my turn, yeah?"

"He's fine, likely just a bit hungry or something." Checking the time on his watch, James nodded an affirmative. "It's about time for his pre-bedtime bottle."

Just then, another sound was heard. There was a deep growl and a slam, and Harry's cries hitched up in volume. Their son was now screaming, and Lily's head snapped towards the direction of his room as if she was attempting to see through walls. James leapt out of bed, too, grabbing her hand and throwing open the door as he tugged her behind him, racing down the hall.

Crossing the threshold of Harry's room, both parents gasped. Harry was standing in his crib, still crying as he gripped the railing. Standing over him was a black shadow with red eyes, muttering words in a language James couldn't understand.

"Get away from him!" Lily screamed, her nails digging into James' arm. He shoved her behind him, creating a barrier that she couldn't pass, holding her back as his brain scrambled to catch up, to try and figure out WHAT TO DO to keep his son safe.

The shadow turned towards them, its claws still hovering dangerously close to Harry's skin. It growled, and in a low, gravelly voice started speaking, each word feeling like a scrape against their ears.

"You shouldn't have come here. This place is mine, and I will not tolerate sunshine or light. Leave. Now."

Lily whimpered, her fingers outstretched towards Harry. James shook his head, pushing her further behind him.

"This is our home, and we'll be staying, thanks." He was still eyeing the creature, his brain whirring as he tried to decipher what kind of being it was. As soon as he knew that, he could figure out how to get rid of it.

At his defiance, the creature lowered its arms and James released a small breath at Harry being at least that much safer from harm. He met the eyes of his wife and gave the slightest nod, and with lightning-fast reflexes, they were spurred to movement. Dodging to the side, James drew the attention of the creature, a loud roar escaping from him as the blackness slammed into him. Lily had darted towards Harry and snatched him from his crib, backing towards the hallway with their son as her husband struggled with this monster they knew nothing about.

James met her eyes and yelled for her to get out, "Lily, take Harry and go! Go! Run! I’ll hold him off!" and the next moment everything went dark.


	2. Chapter 2

When James awoke, he wasn't sure how much time had passed. He had vague recollections of the creature, and startled, scrambling to his feet and searching for his wand. He didn't have it.

Scolding himself loudly, he wondered where it was. "Would've been bloody useful in that instance to have had it. All the spells I know and I didn't even bother to try one?"

Looking around, he realized the room looked different. Harry's crib was gone, as were the changing table and the rocking chair Lily's parents had gifted them. Cobwebs hung in the corners, and the strip of wallpaper with little ducks they'd hung was peeling from the walls. He peered closer and noticed the colors were faded.

"What. What's happened?"

He moved around the room, his footsteps making no noise, and then traveled the rest of the house. Everywhere he looked seemed to be the same. Their furniture was gone and everything seemed older. He heard voices and ducked into a closet, leaving the door opened a crack so he could try and listen in.

A woman with a clipboard was leading a small family through the halls, listing features of the house to them.

"There are three staircases to the various floors, and you've seen the first. We just passed it upon entering. There are a number of bedrooms for use, and all of them have access to a bathroom, although two of them share one. Look at the details, crown moulding and the light fixtures are the originals from when it was built."

How could this woman be trying to sell his house? He stepped out to interrupt her and heard a gasp.

"Did you see that door just open all on its own?"

The woman seemed nervous. "That's highly improbable. With all of the windows, there's likely to be a cross-breeze in these hallways. Must not have been latched and just blew open!"

They were standing feet away from James, and he wondered why none of them had mentioned the appearance of a strange man in the hall. When they resumed walking, he assumed they thought he was the help or something, but then they passed directly through him, which made him a little queasy.

THROUGH HIM? That couldn't be right. He whipped around, watching their retreating backs, and raced up to them waving his arms and screaming in their faces. Nothing happened, none of them even blinked, and his breath on their faces didn't even ruffle their hair. He carried on for minutes, hours, he wasn't sure how long it was, until he felt he should be exhausted and hoarse from screaming. He felt fine. What was happening?

He slumped to the floor, his legs crossed and his chin resting on his fist. When he looked up, there was an oddly-dressed woman staring at him, leaning on the doorway of the room he'd chosen to hide in.

"You only just arrived, yeah? It can be a little overwhelming at first." she nodded as if she was an expert, though he had no idea what she was speaking of. Collecting her numerous skirts (she seemed to be dressed in Victorian finery), she arranged herself on the floor next to him.

"I've no idea what you're talking about," James responded with more than a little frustration.

"Why, you're James Potter. We all thought you'd have been moved on by now, what with the unnatural delay in your appearance. It's not often that someone shows up five years after they've died."

He sputtered. "DIED? No no no, you've made a mistake. I was sleeping. I battled a creature and then I was probably sleeping so I could heal..." he trailed off. "I died that night? And it was five years ago?" He scrubbed his hands across his face, as if he was trying to rub the truth of this into his skin.

She nodded sadly. "You saved your family, though. We all saw it happen, the ghoul attempting to take Harry and then you taking it instead. Lily got away, don't worry. She and Harry are fine, although it took them a while to get that way after you. You know. I'm Sarah Winchester. This is my home. Was? I enlisted the building of this home, I mean." Holding out her hand, she grasped James' in hers, icy cold to the feel of his skin.

"I'm dead. But Lily's fine? And Harry? Harry's fine?" James felt a bit frantic at this, tightening his grip on her fingers. She didn't even flinch.

"They're fine. They left soon after you passed. Lily couldn't stand being in your family home without you. You should see the parting gift she left for you, though," Sarah rose, tugging James with her to the window. There was a bronze stag statue in the garden outside, and James felt like he could cry. It was his animagus form, and it was watching over the front lawn of the last house he lived in.

Sarah continued speaking, giving him some space to deal with his new emotions. "There are a few of us left here. Most of us are harmless, but there are a few that...have less than admirable goals for their afterlives. It's become somewhat of a battle, with a few of us trying to hold off the others from harming anyone else. For the most part, we've succeeded. You were the last casualty of the Darkness, and we've managed to scare off the other families that followed yours before anyone else could be hurt. It's hard work, though." She paused, meeting his gaze. "Would you be willing to help us?"

He nodded, trying to let the words sink in. His family was gone. HE was gone, technically. But he was still here, and he may as well make himself useful.


	3. Chapter 3

Another five years passed, and James did his job well. With Sarah and a few other friendly ghosts, he worked at keeping families safe. There wasn't actually too much protecting to be done, which meant that he spent the years with harmless pranks that gave the house a reputation of being haunted. He enjoyed slamming doors and windows, making eerie noises, literally pulling rugs out from under people's feet...he was surprisingly happy, given the circumstances.

Through the ghostvine, he learned that Lily had remarried and Harry was already excelling in his magical skills. He wished he could see them, but he wasn't able to leave the house grounds -- at least he was able to leave the house structure itself, and many an afternoon was spent draped across the back of his animagus statue.

One day, the silence between families was broken by a new one moving in. There seemed to be at least a dozen of them, all with fiery red hair and more collective noise than should be possible for their numbers. James recognized them as one of the more notorious wizarding families.

"Weasleys!" he said fondly, a smile gracing his face. 

This would be the first wizarding family to move into this house since his own had lived there. This, it turned out, came with complications he hadn't anticipated...namely, that they could SEE him.

Before they officially moved in, Arthur Weasley performed a mass exorcism on the house. All evil spirits were eradicated, which made James a little mournful. If only he'd known to do the same when he'd lived there, but he was young and inexperienced and didn't have his own parents to tell him how to do things. Lily's parents wouldn't have known to do it at all, seeing as they were Muggles. The friendlier ghosts were released, too, sent on their way if they chose it.

James didn't know why he stayed, but things still didn't feel quite finished to him. There had to be something more before he could move on.

He revealed himself to the family, assuring them he meant them no harm. Arthur had been delighted at his presence, asking him dozens of questions about his experiences in the afterlife; and Molly became a new source of news about his former family, all too eager to find out information and pass it along. She could be a spy, that one.

Of course, the children were his favourites. Littlest Ginny was in her first year at Hogwarts and Ron was his son's best friend. Neither of them knew about his connection to Harry, which was for the best considering their inability to keep secrets. To them, he was just James-the-mystery-ghost that new amazing scary stories that he'd often tell beside the fire pit in the backyard, the two youngest Weasleys enthralled and covered in sticky marshmallow residue from s'mores. James got to hear more stories about Harry from Ron, along with tales regaling his amazingness from Ginny, who seemed to be carrying quite the torch for his son.

Fred and George frequently consulted with him for pranks to wreak havoc on their classmates. By this time, they'd already had the Marauder's Map for years, and James was inexplicably proud of the improvements they'd made on it. Surprisingly, even Percy seemed to enjoy James' presence, especially once the two got into a routine of debating. Nobody else seemed to want to get into intellectual arguments with Percy, but James liked the back-and-forth of it, and gladly rose to the challenge.

Charlie was different. Nineteen and newly graduated from Hogwarts, he was home temporarily before he planned to leave for Romania to study dragons. He was quieter than his siblings, more prone to bouts of silent reflecting, and he was more likely to be found outside than in. Half of his time was spent on his broom, zooming around the property chasing one of his Snitches, and James found that he missed the flying more than he missed most things about being alive.

They established a friendship, James and Charlie. Charlie would bring home Quidditch magazines for James to pore over, and James would quiz Charlie on dragon species in preparation for his schooling. They'd go for walks around the property, which was HUGE, and James taught Charlie the charms necessary to create a map of the grounds, similar to Hogwarts Marauders Map. They gifted it to Molly for her birthday that year, and she laughed until she cried and then continued crying with how touched she was. Suddenly, the afterlife was so much less lonely with these Weasleys that let him into their lives with open arms. The Weasleys. And Charlie.


	4. Chapter 4

It was nearly Christmas and James was moping, and he wasn't doing it as discretely as he thought he was. Molly was the first to notice, and everyone else noticed in varying degrees after. In an attempt to cheer him up, Ginny coloured him a drawing and then charmed it to move. He hung the flying unicorn in his room in the attic.

Molly approached him later, wringing her hands and leaning against the doorway, "James? Are you alright?"

He nodded. "M'fine. Just. It's been forever, you know? And now it's another holiday season and you've been wonderful but. It still gets lonely sometimes." He sighed and pulled a hand through his hair. "I miss having a family."

Clucking her tongue, Molly stepped towards him. "You know we think of you as family, yeah? You're one of us, even if you'd never know by looking at you."

"Yeah, the pale skin gives it away, though I've yet to start sprouting ghost freckles and my hair is still darker than any of yours will ever be." James risked a smile. 

"James, there's something I need you to know." There was a hint of nervousness in her voice, something unusual for the strong Weasley matriarch. "We found a spell. I can't guarantee it'll work, and it hasn't been used in ages, but you need to know about it."

He met her eyes, both eyebrows hiked nearly to his hairline. "What do you mean? I couldn't bear to hope..."

"Minerva found it. She knows you've been here and you know her affection for you, and she's been devoting an awful lot of time to her research for this. James, this spell. It'll make you alive again. For one day."

There was a gasp that escaped him, and he sank to the floor, thinking of the possibilities.

"There's more. Lily knows you're here, and she'd like to see you."

It didn't seem like there would ever be enough air for James to catch his breath again. He could see Lily. He could see Harry. He could TOUCH them. He could leave this house.

"We'll have to hurry, though. Minerva is downstairs making the necessary preparations, and she said something about aligning it with the moon phases. Do you want to do this?"

Standing so quickly he nearly fell over, James let out a resounding, "YES!" before launching himself downstairs, Molly at his transparent heels. He could hardly contain his excitement at the sight of his favourite school professor wafting strange-smelling air over a cauldron.

"Professor McGonagall!" with a sweeping bow, he greeted her. "You've hardly aged a day since I left Hogwarts."

"I'd say the same for you, dear boy, and it'd be the truth. You're twenty-one still, yes?"

He nodded. "How does this work?"

Minerva explained the process, how he'd be splashed with a potion while she chanted some words over him and it would give him a physical body for twenty-four hours. Lily was expecting him in her home in London, and Minerva had a Portkey for him. The process went faster than he expected, and it seemed like he blinked and suddenly he could feel EVERYTHING and colours were brighter and having a body felt heavier than he remembered. His hair was in his eyes and his glasses were dirty and he may have been crying and suddenly there was a pull behind his bellybutton and he was crouched in an unfamiliar foyer with an older Lily Evans-Potter-something-else staring him down.

She pulled him into a fierce hug, and James knew with 100% certainty that he was crying and both of them were, and her hair smelled differently than it used to and she felt different. After a few moments, he pulled away, both hands cupping her face.

"Lily, I can't believe it."

"James, you dolt! You went and got yourself killed for us and I thought I'd never see you again..." her tear-stained face was pink and James blurted, "I never knew you'd be so pretty at thirty-one."

She laughed. "It's good to know you haven't changed." Leading him to the sitting room, she Summoned a tea set and set them to talking. They spent the better part of an hour reliving the first few years after his death, and then there was a hesitation.

"You know I remarried?"

"I knew. Molly told me. She told me lots of things, when I asked."

"I know, she told me about you as well. We've been keeping tabs on each other for ages, James."

"Shacklebolt, though, yeah?" He rubbed his hand against the back of his neck. "He's good to you?"

"He's great. He doesn't make me laugh nearly as much as you made me, but after everything that happened, I didn't feel so much like laughing anyway. He's been patient and kind and he's wonderful with Harry, too."

James just nodded, as Lily moved closer and took his hand in hers.

"Jamie, things are...different. This isn't what anybody thought our lives would be. I loved you for years, and I'll never be able to repay you for the sacrifice you made..."

"but things are different," he interrupted. "Yeah, I know. It's just that Minerva gave me this opportunity and I couldn't think of where I should go once I was a PERSON again, and then Molly said you were waiting..." he threw up his hands.

Lily just laughed. "James, I think we both know there's someplace else you should be now. I'll come visit you at the house if that's alright? Once this day is over? I'll bring Harry. He asks loads of questions and he's so PERSISTENT -- no idea where he got that from," she winked, "and it'd be wonderful if you could help me with that. Molly's had a hell of a time keeping Harry from going over there before now, and it's kind of amazing that Ron and Ginny are so oblivious about who you really are. Would that be okay with you?"

"Okay? I'd love that! Ron talks about Harry all the time and it's been torture pretending I don't know him. Yes, please. Let me see my son."

"Alright. In the meantime," she checked her watch, "you've got about twenty-two more hours. And I've got a Portkey to Romania."

James blinked. "Why Romania?"

"Oh, don't be daft with me, Potter! There's a certain Charles Weasley there, and while he's not exactly expecting you, I hardly think he'll turn you away."

"Charlie? No, we're. He's just. I mean. He's probably really busy with those dragons and stuff." he flushed, not even understanding why.

"You're full of shite, you know? Molly and I have talked and you've even used the SAME tricks on him that you tried on me when we were in the wooing stages. Presents, teasing...everything short of pulling his hair." She pulled a Golden Snitch from her pocket and set it on the table in front of them. "Seek, and ye shall find." Giving him a final fierce hug, she walked out of the room.

There was a few moments of hesitation before he sighed and leaned forward, wrapping his slim fingers around the familiar piece of Quidditch equipment. There was a swirling in his stomach, and when he opened his eyes he was standing in a field, lightning blazing around him and thunder booming in the air.

He smiled, feeling the rain pouring onto him and remembering that it had been over ten years since he'd felt the sensation. It felt like a new part of his life was beginning, one without Lily and Harry but with someone else in the starring role.

There was another flash of lightning and he startled at the sight of Charlie in front of him, his jaw dropping.

"Where's your shirt?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Is that a DRAGON behind you?"

"DO YOU HAVE A BODY?"

They both laughed at the simultaneous rapid-fire questioning, both of them falling silent at the same moment.

"So it's kind of wet out here, yeah?"

"We could probably head inside. Dunno if I can catch a cold, but don't really want to test it."

"Mum said you've got less than a day?"

"About twenty-one hours before I have to be back."

"You look good as a person." Charlie's face flushed pink.

James smirked. "You look good without a shirt and dripping rainwater."

"Yeah, inside sounds good."

They raced for the cabin, Charlie's dragons seeming to smile at the two crazy wizards that couldn't seem to slam the door behind them fast enough.


End file.
